Cold Realisation
by Panini Broz
Summary: It has been three years since Malefor has been defeated, and it is time for Spyro to face another challenge. This time, it's a challenge of love. What makes it more complicated is that Spyro is not in love with a girl. He's in love with another guy. And not just any guy, it's Cyril. Spyro must figure out how he is going to confess to Cyril, praying that Cyril would love him back.


Spyro woke up with a sigh. It had been three years since the end of the war, and as an eighteen-year-old, he was only just getting used to a civil, peaceful life. It felt weird having to readjust to a normal life once more, but his 'normal' had now been changed. Before the war, 'normal' had been living a peaceful life as a large, fat, purple dragonfly. Now, his 'normal' was completely different, living among dragons and getting used to being a dragon.

Even still, his 'normal' was no longer normal. As of recently, he'd been feeling things that he had never felt before. Whenever he was around a certain person, he got this strange feeling that always overcame him, and he was always super nervous around them. He'd heard that people called this love, but… was it?

Love was between a dragon and a dragoness, right? So why was he feeling this towards another guy? To top it all off, it was _Cyril _he had these feelings towards.

It was the weirdest thing ever. To be a guy, in love with another guy, who was a good sixty years older than him. Cyril was seventy-eight. While that was still pretty young for a dragon, as they normally lived up to three hundred, sixty years was still a massive age gap to have between two partners in a couple. It would never happen. Him and Cyril? No way.

He sighed. He'd been feeling this way around Cyril for a very long time, but he'd always been too afraid to admit it. He even toyed with the idea of trying to get into a relationship with a girl to try and distract him from his feelings towards Cyril and maybe turn him onto the path that most dragons thought was right, but no girl caught his eye. There wasn't a single dragoness in Warfang that interested him. Sure, Warfang was a massive city, so there were plenty of beautiful dragonesses around. Some of which had even tried to flirt with him. He would have no trouble getting a girl. But he was not interested.

After trying to find a girl had failed, he'd eventually come to terms to the fact that he liked guys, so tried looking for another guy. Someone around his age. There were many big, bulky, handsome dragons, but none of them had the same charm as Cyril. He had a decent amount of bulk for an ice dragon, his facial structure was firm and handsome, and his cyan eyes just stood out. They sparkled. So did his scales. They were like real ice, catching the sun and reflecting the light it gave off with a sheen that Spyro swore was only noticeable to him. His voice was royal and had a sense of authority about it. His accent was also something that intrigued Spyro. The purple dragon loved everything about him. Well, almost everything. Cyril's pride got in the way quite a lot, but Spyro was sure that could be fixed in time.

If only he could, though.

It was bad enough, liking another guy, but to have such a large age gap between the one he was in love with would just be so weird. No one would take him seriously.

Spyro just sighed sadly, getting up out of bed. He'd been lying there for too long, just thinking about Cyril. He'd been in love with Cyril for a year, and his want to confess it kept getting worse. But how could he confess it? Cyril would probably just laugh at him, before telling him to get therapy. For all Spyro knew, Cyril would probably not even be into guys like he was. At his age, Cyril probably already had a mate. He didn't know of any of the guardians having mates, but none of them really speak about their personal life, so a lot of Spyro's guesses were just that. Guesses. Estimates.

He sighed again as he made his way to his kitchen, made himself some breakfast, and then went outside for a walk. He so badly needed to have a walk, just to try and figure his emotions out. To figure out why he was attracted to guys and not girls. No matter how much he thought about it however, he could not figure out why he was like this. Had he always been like this? Had he always been attracted to the same sex? The feeling overcame him and while it did feel natural, he couldn't stop doubting it because it wasn't normal, according to social standards. Every other dragon was attracted to the opposite sex. He'd seen many couples together, comprised of a dragon and a dragoness. All his friends back in school were also out to get girls, often competing with each other for the same one. He'd never seen a romantic couple comprising of two guys before.

Was he the only one?

Spyro sighed sadly, his chances with Cyril dwindling to even smaller numbers. Even just a chance with any other guy was shrinking.

Would he forever be single? Or would he be forced to have a relationship with a girl he wasn't even attracted to?

Spyro was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of someone calling his name. He turned towards the sound and blinked nervously as he saw Cynder running up to him. He'd been very nervous around Cynder ever since she had said those three words in the core. Since she had said she loved him. He had heard those words and they replayed themselves in his head over and over again. He felt guilty knowing he could not return the same feelings.

"Uh, hi Cynder," Spyro said, faking a smile.

Cynder stopped in front of him, her smile large and genuine. "Hey, didn't expect to see you out so early this morning," she chuckled. "What brings you out here?"

"Just thinking about… stuff. I've got a lot going through my head right now."

"Oh. Oh, okay. Um, do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Alright. That's fine, uh… Anyway, there's s-s-something I wanted to ask y-you," Cynder stammered, and Spyro felt his heart rise in his throat.

_She's going to ask me out,_ the purple dragon thought frantically. _She's going to ask me out, and I'm going to have to say no. Ancestors, help me._

He hoped he was just overanalysing this, but he was proven correct as Cynder brought forth the question in her head. "I've been feeling… differently about you compared to most other guys, ever since the war," she murmured nervously. "I'd always assumed it was because you were the only guy my age in the war that I was feeling this way about you, but after spending time with other guys, I can confirm that it's you. So, uh… I just wanna get this started and ask… do you want to… go out with me? On a date?"

Spyro sighed sadly, hanging his head. He didn't want to have to tell Cynder like this… He didn't even want to tell her at all. But he knew now that he had to. "Well um… h-h-how do I put this? Uh… Cynder, I uh… I would love to, but…" Spyro stammered, cursing himself as he did so. "Ancestors, I… I'm, uh… I'm going to have to say… n… n-n-no."

"Wh… What?" Cynder exclaimed.

Ancestors, her voice sounded so broken. He hated to do this to her, but he couldn't lie to this about himself any longer. He was attracted to guys, and he had to pursue them. It wouldn't feel right otherwise.

"It's not that I don't like you or anything, Cynder! It's just that… It's just that… I… I'm not attracted to girls."

There, he'd said it.

Cynder blinked, bringing a few tears out from her eyes, which were swelling with moisture. She stared at him blankly, blinking again, before she burst out into laughter, which sounded very much hysterical. Spyro was worried she was going into denial. "That's _ridiculous_, Spyro! How can _you_, the hero of the realms, not be attracted to girls?! I mean, what even are you attracted to, _rocks_?!" Cynder guffawed, before heavy coughing fits overtook her from laughing too hard.

She calmed herself down, letting out a few whimpering giggles as she recovered from her laughter, before she faltered at Spyro's expression. A heavy blush burned through his cheeks, and he was downcast, looking down at his paws, lips pursed tightly, eyes tearing up. He almost looked… angry.

"What, you're actually serious?" Cynder gasped.

The purple dragon hesitated, before nodding. "I'm attracted to guys," he croaked, voice low, embarrassment edging his tone.

Cynder obviously didn't know how to handle this news. This wasn't normal, and never really came up, but she knew that if it was, it'd be taken rather negatively by the public. But… Spyro was her friend. He'd stood up for her and helped her out when things were rough, especially when all of society shunned her because of her past actions. She couldn't just give up on him now. He'd been by her side and supported her through everything. She needed to do the same for him. He deserved it. Plus, that's what friends do, right? Even if they couldn't be together in a relationship, they could still very well be friends. This was weird, of course, and it would take some getting used to, but ancestors curse her if she leave her friend now.

"Okay, um… Well, this'll take some getting used to, but… just know that I'll be here by your side, supporting you, just like you did for me," Cynder said softly. "We can still be friends, can't we?"

Spyro smiled faintly, nodding in reply. Cynder smiled back and hugged him. "I'm a bit annoyed that it won't work out between us. I guess I'll just have to find some other guy," she said.

"You're taking this better than I thought you would," Spyro pointed out.

"I am upset, but… there wasn't anything too much to break. We were never in a relationship and we hadn't really invested into each other the way a couple would. We've only ever been friends, and while I'm sad that's all we'll remain as, I'm glad we still at least have that," Cynder replied, before pulling out of the hug and giving Spyro a sly smirk. "So tell me, Spyro, who's the lucky man? Richter, Marsav, Darvix? They're all pretty well-built dragons."

"None of them."

"Oh? Who is it then?"

"Um… this is going to sound utterly ridiculous and idiotic…" Spyro murmured nervously.

"Just tell me, Spyro. Who've you got your eyes on?"

After a moment's hesitation, Spyro croaked out one name, "Cyril…"

Cynder stopped, her jaw dropping at the name he dropped. She stepped close to Spyro, dropping her voice into a whisper. "Of all the dragons… a _guardian_?!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know what caused me to fall for him, I swear. I mean, I know what I like about him, but why it was _him_ I fell for, I have no clue," Spyro whispered back, his blush returning with a vengeance. "I've been feeling this way about him for a while now. And it just keeps getting worse the more I think of it."

"But he's _sixty years older than you_!"

"I _know_, I'm trying to figure out how to get around that issue. I'm just stuck on ideas."

There was silence for a bit, before Cynder's eyes lit up. "I know a cheetah mage who's skilled in crafting potions. Maybe she has something that can help with that," Cynder suggested.

"Like an age changing potion?" Spyro questioned.

"I guess so. You could ask for that."

"But how would that work? That'd just change my body into one of an older dragon; I'd grow from about two and a half metres to around four or five. Mentally, however, I'd still be an eighteen-year-old. Plus, I don't even know if something like that exists."

"No point in not trying, Spyro. I'll take you to the mage so you can ask him what he has."

"I don't know… I just feel like I'd be screwing around with more than I'm meant to. I mean, what if it fails? Or what if it works but Cyril doesn't have the same feelings for me? And that's _highly likely_ by the way. I'd be older than I should and it'd be completely awkward."

"Don't worry about it, Spyro. If Cyril doesn't feel the same about you then we can always try and reverse it to send you back to normal. If it fails? Well, I'm not sure what would happen then, but I doubt it will. You're a strong dragon and Vidari is extremely skilled in potion creation. I doubt anything would go wrong. Plus, what's wrong with being old? I think that'd be pretty cool. You can do whatever you want basically; you don't have the restrictions of being a student and all that other stuff."

"Yeah, but I'd miss out on fifty to sixty years of my life, _plus_ I'd be fifty or sixty years older than _all my friends_. Plus, it's not normal. Even if Cyril does share the same feelings for me and it works out, it's still not normal. Everyone would just think I'm weird."

"After you telling me that you're into guys, I'm not sure you being a bit older is _that_ weird. A guy being into another guy tops everything on the weird scale."

"Ancestors, thanks Cynder," Spyro groaned, rolling his eyes, before he sat down with an upset sigh. "I don't know, I think I'm the only one that likes my own sex. Cyril won't be interested in me, and neither will any other guy, because they'll all be attracted to dragonesses. It'll all be pointless. Also, pretty awkward… I basically have to come out to Cyril, hope that he also likes guys, and then see if we can start something. On top of that, I'd be his age. Cyril would just be weirded out."

"Don't worry about it, Spyro. You'll just keep beating yourself up over it if you don't do it. Plus, I think everyone should pursue love, no matter who they have their eyes on. Usually I say that about guys and girls but... if you're into guys, and _Cyril _of all dragons, at least try it."

"Thanks, Cynder… You know, I really didn't expect you to be so accepting of my sexual preference."

"It's weird, yes, and I don't really agree with it, but you're my friend. Of course I'll help you out and support you."

Spyro quickly brought Cynder into a tight hug, his form quivering slightly as he tried to hold in his tears. Cynder returned the hug, holding him firmly. "Th-th-thank you, Cynder," Spyro sobbed, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down. "I never thought anyone would accept me for this… Was… Was this what it felt like when I accepted you, Cynder? After feeling guilty, scared and embarrassed for something you think you are, only for others to continue loving you for it anyway?"

"Yeah. Yeah it is. I guess I kinda owe it to you, but I'm not doing it to pay you back for what you did for me, even though that is part of it. Most importantly, you're my friend. Again, I'm upset that we can't be more than that, but I cherish our friendship and I don't want it to die out. And that's why I'm doing it. I want to help out a friend."

Spyro nodded, before wriggling himself out of Cynder's hold, sniffling and smiling slightly. "Thank you, Cynder," he murmured gratefully.

"So how about we go and visit Vidari to see if she can make this age changing potion?" Cynder suggested.

"Yeah. Y-y-yeah, let's go."

Spyro and Cynder then made their way down the streets and into the market. It was loud and busy, and was somewhat difficult to make their way through it without bumping into other people. A few rowdy teenage dragons, about fourteen to sixteen, most of them male but some female, suddenly came barging down through the markets, chasing each other and hollering boisterously, knocking many dragons aside. With a heavy slam, one of them slammed hard into Cynder, causing her to topple sideways and into Spyro.

They both fell to the ground, Cynder on top of Spyro. They both groaned in pain, but came back to their senses at the same time. A heavy blush flared up in Spyro's cheeks, as they did with Cynder's shortly after. Cynder quickly got off Spyro, before offering him a paw to help him to all fours. Any other day, Cynder would have enjoyed lying on top of Spyro like that, especially as she had had a crush on him, but he was obviously very awkward about it since a girl wasn't his preference. Cynder could see how it was almost a violation of him, hence why she was so quick to get off him.

"Are you alright?" Cynder asked Spyro, making sure he wasn't too shaken up or embarrassed by the ordeal.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Head hurts a bit from hitting the ground and uh… well that was a bit awkward too, but other than that I'm good," Spyro replied. "Are _you_ alright?"

"Yep, I'm good," Cynder said quickly, averting her gaze from Spyro. "Let's just go."

Spyro could guess why she was so embarrassed right now. It was probably because Cynder was afraid she was making him awkward with the way they were positioned, lying on the ground with her on top of him - which he did get a bit awkward about it pretty quickly.

But the two dragons put that embarrassing event behind them and continued on, before they arrived at Vidari's store: _The Fleeting Spirit_. They walked in, and Spyro gasped at the sight that welcomed him. There were shelves filled with vials of many different varieties, and up against the back wall was a large wooden counter. Behind the counter was a bunch of vats and vials, most of them empty. There were several tools hung up on the wall, and a large book lay on a table beside one of the large vats. In front of one of the vats stood a cheetah in long blue robes, stirring some steaming green mixture in one of the vats, humming to herself. She was tall and had a slender form.

Upon hearing Spyro and Cynder's pawsteps, the she-cheetah's ears perked up, and she turned to look at them, piercing yellow eyes gazing at them. Her fur was a very dark shade of blue, and she wore a great deal of eye-shadow. Her face was smooth and beautiful, and her chest was well-defined. Her tail swung about behind her, almost hypnotically.

"Welcome, Cynder," she greeted, her voice deep and soft. "And I'm guessing this is Spyro; you've told me a bit about him. Nice to meet you."

The she-cheetah bowed her head to Spyro, and feeling like this was some sort of a cultural thing, Spyro bowed his head back to her. He looked over to Cynder, who was wearing a big smile on her face. "Hey, Vidari," Cynder said. "How are you today?"

"Just working on a potion for a young cheetah who's started losing his sight. It's meant to help him see properly again," Vidari explained.

"Ah, that's good to hear," Cynder responded with a smile.

"Anyway, anything you want me to get you? Another one of those potions to help with your nightmares?"

"No, I've been coping pretty well lately. Haven't even had a nightmare in a good long while. In fact, I'm here because of Spyro."

Vidari raised an eyebrow, before turning to the purple dragon. "Well, purple dragon. I'll be willing to help you out. What's the issue?"

"Um… it's complicated, but uh… I'm, uh…" Spyro stuttered, debating whether to be discreet about his sexual preference or not. "I'm… in love with someone, and they are… well, they're about sixty years older than me."

"Wait, so you and Cynder aren't together?" Vidari asked. "I just assumed…"

"I know I've told you I had a crush on him, but… it hasn't worked out," Cynder explained quickly. "Now, back to Spyro's problem…"

"Yes, ahem… so the dragoness you have your eyes on is… what, sixty years older than you?"

Spyro felt his heart lurch at the word 'dragoness', but he didn't feel comfortable saying that he was in love with another guy, so just nodded anyway, swallowing the discomfort. The whole predicament of Cyril being sixty years older than Spyro was enough of a weird issue to begin with. He didn't need to make it even weirder.

Vidari blinked, before she nodded. "O-okay… so what do you want to fix it? Like… an age changing potion or something?" she inquired.

"Yes, exactly. I want you to make me sixty years older. Just to… you know, not make the relationship… awkward?"

"Why not make her your age? Or equal your ages out to around thirty or forty so it's not too much of a change?"

"No. No, I-I-I c-can't do that to hi… u-u-uhh… _her_," Spyro stammered, quickly trying to correct his slip of words, now feeling awkward using the incorrect pronoun. "She's in a very… influential role and it'd be weird to everyone, especially her coworkers if she suddenly changed age like that."

"You're in a pretty influential role too, Spyro," Vidari retorted. "You're the _purple dragon_. Everyone would be weirded out by you suddenly gaining sixty years. I mean, with a life span of three hundred years, that's not too much for a dragon, but it is still a significant amount of time to just lose."

"Much rather me than h-h-her."

"Okay then," Vidari replied with a shrug. "That'll be twenty-five gold coins, as well as maybe two or three of your scales, Spyro."

"Twenty-five gold coins?! That's insane!" Spyro exclaimed. "I don't even have any money with me!"

"You can pay later if you want, Spyro. My treat to you, purple dragon. When you come back to get the potion, you can pay then," Vidari offered. "Don't expect this offer again though. It's the first time you're a customer here, after all."

"And what's with the scales?"

"So I have your DNA to work with. I need to know what I'm dealing with, as everyone reacts differently to different solutions. Like I said, two or three will be enough."

"Oh, uh… Okay," Spyro murmured, before raising his claws and digging them into his side, grabbing onto his scales before proceeding to tear a few out, causing him to wince in pain.

Spyro handed over the scales, before Vidari thanked them and sent them on their way. The she-cheetah said the potion would be done in about three days, and to come back to her shortly after midday.

Spyro and Cynder left the store, and Spyro let out a contented sigh. Cynder turned to Spyro and gave a chuckle. "You happy now?" she asked him.

"Yeah. I'm one step down to finally getting together with him," Spyro said softly, a blush creeping up in his cheeks. "I just hope he feels the same about me, although it will probably never happen."

"You never know, Spyro. If he's anything like you, being attracted to the same sex and all that, he's probably hiding it just like you did. Only he would know about it," Cynder replied.

"But it's all about chance. I'm not really liking that. You have it easy. Literally all other guys are attracted to girls, so you don't really have a problem. What other guy likes another guy?"

"You're just being silly, Spyro. Just go for it. Try it. You don't know what Cyril thinks about you until you bring it up with him."

"Yeah…"

Spyro and Cynder walked in silence, leaving the market. It wasn't long before Cynder let out a yelp as she was knocked to the ground. Spyro turned back, ready to help her up, but the fire dragon that knocked her over had already apologised, reaching down to help her to her paws. "I'm sorry, I-I-I didn't see you there a-a-and I…"

"Don't worry about it," Cynder said with a bit of a blush, accepting the dragon's aid as he pulled her up.

She blinked. He was about her age, with long golden horns, a large golden crest, fiery red eyes and a long, rounded snout. He was slightly smaller than Spyro, but made up for it with slightly more muscle. "U-u-u-uhh… Th-th-thank you, uh…" she stammered.

"F-Flame. My name's Flame," the fire dragon replied, before stepping back from Cynder. "Sorry about that, I uh… Yeah… Enjoy the rest of your day."

Flame turned and walked off in the direction he was travelling before, and Cynder noticed he was moving a lot quicker than normal walking pace. He was probably just embarrassed. Cynder just watched him leave, jaw slack and a blush blossoming in her cheeks.

"Cynder? Are you alright?" Spyro asked.

"Yeah. Y-y-yeah, I'm fine," Cynder replied, only half-acknowledging his question.

"You're not hurt or anything?"

"Like I said, I'm fine. Flame, though… He was… something else."

Spyro just blinked, before he smiled knowingly. "He was pretty well-built and handsome," Spyro said with a shrug.

Cynder turned around with a roll of her eyes, glaring at Spyro with a scoff. "Yeah, like you know what you're…" Cynder retaliated, pausing as she realised what she was saying. "...talking about. By the ancestors, Spyro! You know what you're talking about! You like guys!"

"Not so loud, Cynder!" Spyro pleaded, thankful that the noise of the markets was loud enough to drown out Cynder's remark to any other ears.

"Sorry," Cynder apologised, before running up to stand close to Spyro. "But most dragons… when they talk about other guys, it's usually out of a friendship or jealousy or appreciation thing or whatever… I don't know what guys talk about so stuff that, but… you? You can speak of them out of attraction."

"Just because I'm attracted to guys doesn't mean I'm attracted to _him_, per se! I mean, sure, he's good-looking, but I already have a crush on Cyril," Spyro replied, lowering his voice on the last word.

"Still, we can talk to each other about guys and stuff. This is _great_!"

"Cynder, I don't want to get involved in gossip and… and 'guy-talk'. It doesn't seem right, plus it's weird. I'm still not used to my own preference _myself_."

Cynder just rolled her eyes, before turning and walking out of the market again, Spyro following. Spyro cleared his throat, before he spoke to Cynder again. "If you're attracted to him though, why don't you try and get to know him? Try and start something? After all, you're not occupied by me anymore," Spyro suggested.

"But I don't know where he lives, what he does, what his friends are like… if he's already in a relationship…" Cynder murmured.

"You know his name and what he looks like. That's enough to try and track him down I guess," Spyro said. "You'll find out if he's in a relationship or not. If he's not, I reckon go for it."

The black dragoness just nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Spyro," she replied.

"It's all good. Just some friendly advice. Anyway, I'm going to go home now," Spyro said.

"Alright, bye. We'll head back to Vidari together in about three days to see if this works."

"Yep. See you then."

With that, Spyro and Cynder went their separate ways.

* * *

Three days passed and the time had come for Spyro and Cynder to return to Vidari to get the age changing potion. Spyro was ecstatic about today, finally being able to take a step closer to being with Cyril. He knew he couldn't prepare himself for the physical change, but he couldn't wait for it. As soon as he had woken up, he had gotten ready immediately, eating breakfast and grabbing some money to pay Vidari for the potion. He was actually ready before Cynder even showed up at his door. He sat around reading for about twenty minutes before Cynder finally knocked on the door. He opened it, beaming as he was met with Cynder's smiling face.

"Hey, Spyro. You ready to see if this is going to work?" Cynder asked.

"Of course I am, let's go!" Spyro exclaimed, leaping out through his door and closing it behind him.

"Ha ha, someone's eager."

"Hey, I'm finally getting one step closer to being with my crush. Of _course_ I'm eager! I've always seen this all as a massive road block but now I'm actually starting to see a destination. I'm so happy!"

"I'm happy for you, Spyro," Cynder said as they both started making their way back to Vidari's store. "Speaking of relationships, I uh… I caught up with Flame again. We've started a friendship now but I can't wait to see it turn into a romantic relationship. I really do think I have a crush on him."

"It's great to hear you've found someone else though, Cynder. I do admit, I still feel bad that I had to decline you like that."

"Don't worry about it, it's perfectly fine. I understand and I didn't really want to make you uncomfortable if you aren't… you know, attracted to me," Cynder explained. "But, I'm pretty happy I've found Flame. He's pretty hot."

Spyro just chuckled, but in the deepest depths of his mind, he had to agree, even though his mind and heart was set on Cyril.

A few minutes later they arrived at _The Fleeting Spirit_, and Vidari was quick to greet them. "Good morning, Spyro and Cynder. And what timing, I just finished the final product," Vidari said.

"Thank you so much. I brought the money too, Vidari," Spyro said, pulling the twenty-five gold coins out of his satchel.

Vidari thanked Spyro, grabbing the coins and putting them in the cashier,before she grabbed the vial with the potion inside it, before walking into one of the back rooms, telling them to come with her. "This potion kinda has a lot going on inside it so I'll need to be here to monitor it and help it along. Basically what it does is it'll send you into a coma where your body fades into the void. Time will speed up for however long you want and when you return, you will have aged that long. Up here, it will only take a couple of seconds however," Vidari explained.

"That sounds… weird," Spyro murmured.

"But it works. Your scales came out stronger and more developed when I did tests on them. I did one test for five years, and then one for a hundred, and both worked. So I have a twenty-three-year-old scale, as well as a hundred-and-eighteen-year-old scale. DNA tests proved this age. I then made a final potion for sixty years, just like you asked, and low and behold, I received a seventy-eight-year-old scale."

Spyro nodded, smiling. "It sounds like it works. I'm impressed. I honestly didn't think such a potion was possible," he remarked.

"It took a lot of time and effort, but it works. Anyway, I think it's time to give you the potion now. Here's the vial," Vidari said, passing Spyro the vial.

Spyro took the vial, staring at the pinkish liquid inside the vial. He swallowed, mentally praying to the ancestors that this would work, before he brought the vial to his lips and tilted his head back, feeling the liquid leave the vial and flood into his mouth. It was sweet on his tongue, almost too sweet, so swallowed it with a slight groan. He could feel the liquid sliding down his throat for a few seconds, until he couldn't feel it anymore. He couldn't feel his throat. Then he lost feeling inside his mouth. His vision went blurry and he suddenly fell over. He felt himself slipping away as a shroud of black overtook him.

His eyes closed, and he was gone to the world.

_See you in sixty years, Spyro._

* * *

The first thing Spyro felt was a slight buzzing in his head, stinging a little bit, but it was also somewhat hypnotic. He opened his eyes, spots floating about in his vision. He blinked furiously, his eyesight slowly getting clearer and clearer. He groaned as he picked his head up off the ground. His body began to regain feeling, flaring up with a bit of pain before it subsided.

He looked around, seeing Cynder and Vidari standing in the back room, staring at him. Cynder's jaw was slack with awe, and a satisfied smile pulled at Vidari's lips. He made a confused face. Everything felt smaller. He tried to stand, his legs wobbling, and realised how much he was looking down on Cynder and Vidari. He looked down on Vidari before, and he and Cynder had been about the same height. Why was he so big?

The purple dragon looked down at his paws. They were large, big and heavy, claws long and sharp, fully developed, and scales stronger, thicker, and a much darker shade of purple, as if they had aged a lot. "What… What just happened?" Spyro asked, before his eyes widened at the sound of his voice.

It had dropped significantly. He sounded _much_ older.

He suddenly remembered what had happened. The vial. The age changing potion to close the age gap between him and Cyril. Spyro turned to Vidari, surprise gleaming in his violet eyes. "Did it work?" he asked.

"Perfectly," Vidari replied. "You are now seventy-eight years old."

Spyro's eyes widened, the words slowly sinking in. His lips curled upwards into a large, beaming smile, and his jaw dropped, breath shaking. It had worked. It had worked! Spyro and Cyril were the same age! The purple dragon let out a gleeful laugh.

He turned to Cynder, who blinked, taking it all in, before she smiled back at him. She couldn't not be happy about Spyro's excitement. He was finally getting there.

"So now what do you want to do?" Cynder asked Spyro.

"I, uh…" Spyro stammered, glancing awkwardly at Vidari, who still didn't know about his sexual preference.

Vidari seemed to understand his discomfort, however just believed it being uncomfortable about relationship talk around someone he didn't know, so the she-cheetah politely made her leave, closing the door behind her to give Spyro and Cynder a bit of privacy.

Spyro swallowed, before answering Cynder's question. "I, uh… I don't know. I mean, walking through Warfang is going to be weird enough, let alone trying to explain to the guardians what happened," Spyro murmured. "I mean, I'm going to tell Cyril the truth about it, but… Terrador and Volteer…"

"We could always say you came here to get some medicine or something like that but an age changing potion was dropped on you or something? I don't know," Cynder replied.

"Plus, I kinda want to be alone with Cyril when I confess to him. I'd much rather him know before the other guardians do. I know Terrador would just scold me, and Volteer would just go off the hook in a massive long spiel about why I can't love another guy."

"And… Cyril?"

"I… I don't know. I guess I'm just hoping to just hear that he's attracted to guys as well, especially me. I really don't know what I'm expecting."

"I can… I dunno, I can try and get Terrador and Volteer out. Maybe I could ask them about Flame, and their thoughts on a relationship."

"A _proper_ one," Spyro mumbled.

"Stop that, Spyro."

"I'm not normal. I don't like girls, I like _guys_. It's not proper. There isn't even a _term_ for it."

"You could make one."

"I'd much rather not."

Spyro just sighed, hanging his head slightly. Cynder walked up to him, putting her paw on his, unable to wrap her talons around it the way she normally would due to his paws now being larger than hers. Cynder looked up at him, slightly intimidated by the way he stood over her, but swallowing that intimidation to support her friend. "It's alright, Spyro. I'm sure it'll work out," Cynder said softly.

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. I want it to work for you. I'm serious. You're my friend, homosexual or not."

"'Homosexual'?"

"Yeah? You know… 'homo' means 'same'? You're attracted to the same sex? I kinda just put… both words together?"

"That's dumb. The term will never stick."

"Whatever floats your boat. I like it," Cynder grumbled with a shrug. "Anyway, are you gonna continue sitting here on your behind all day or are you going to talk to Cyril?"

"Yeah. Y-y-yeah, let's go."

With that, Spyro stood, opening the door and letting Cynder walk through, before following her out. They walked out of _The Fleeting Spirit_, thanking Vidari as they left. Spyro and Cynder made their way to the Warfang Temple, and many odd looks were cast in Spyro's direction as people passed them. They knew this purple dragon had to be Spyro. There was only one purple dragon in the world, and this seventy-eight-year-old dragon had the same horns, crest and facial structure as the eighteen-year-old, just aged a lot more. It was clear by everyone's facial expressions that they wondered what had happened, but none were brave enough to actually approach Spyro and ask.

A few minutes later they arrived at the Warfang Temple, entering it. Cynder ran ahead of Spyro, knocking on the doors to the guardians' rooms. Terrador answered the door, blinking with surprise. "Cynder, what brings you here?" the earth guardian questioned.

"I'd like to talk with you and Volteer about something," Cynder replied, putting on a slightly nervous expression.

"Alright, come in," Terrador invited.

"No, I'd like to walk. I'm probably going to need some fresh air while doing this. I have to ask you about… about a guy… and I don't think I can be cooped up inside trying to talk about it," Cynder insisted.

Terrador stammered, confusion clouding his gaze, before he shook his head, rolling his eyes, and turning back to look inside the room. "Volteer, we're going out. Cynder wants to talk to us," Terrador ordered.

"Alright, Terrador. I'm coming. I cannot comprehend why we don't remain and linger inside the temple, however," Volteer mumbled, walking up to the door.

"Cynder's worried she'll hyperventilate," Terrador replied. "She's asking about a guy."

"Really? Who is it? Is it Spyro?" Volteer exclaimed, causing Cynder to cringe, as well as Spyro, who remained standing just aside from the front doors to the temple.

"No! _Spyro_? I've never even thought of him… you know, _that_ way before," Cynder scoffed. "No, I've got a crush on another boy."

"Alright, well… I guess we're off. Lead the way, Cynder," Terrador said.

Cynder, Terrador and Volteer turned, leaving the temple. Somehow Terrador and Volteer didn't notice Spyro standing a few metres away from the door, but they were both focused on Cynder as she attempted to form words about Flame. The now seventy-eight-year-old purple dragon was glad that they had left, and hoped Cynder would do well distracting them. To be honest though, it would probably be beneficial for her to have that sort of help from Terrador and Volteer too, who both had mates. He had a feeling some of Cynder's questions would actually be legitimate ones.

It was now that Spyro wished he had the same privileges of having people to give him advice on romance and love. But he just sighed. This was who he was. He had to live with it now. Most importantly, he had to swallow his nerves and walk forward. Cyril was just behind those doors. The love of his life was waiting for him, and now he could finally approach Cyril about it.

He took a deep breath, his legs shaking nervously, before he slowly walked forward. The door was still slightly open, but Spyro still knocked anyway, tapping his fist on the door slowly and carefully. Spyro heard Cyril standing up to walk to the door, grumbling. "Terrador and Volteer have already gone out for some reason, they didn't notify me why, but if you want a guardian you're stuck with me," Cyril murmured from behind the door, before opening it.

"That's perfectly fine, Cyril," Spyro replied, stepping back as Cyril opened the door properly.

Cyril froze, seeing the purple dragon, who was now his age. His purple scales were thicker, heavier and darker, his horns and crest were larger, his face was more defined, and his voice was deeper. Most importantly, Spyro was now _taller_ than Cyril, by about fifteen centimetres.

"Spyro, is that you?" Cyril inquired, confusion and worry filling his eyes.

"Yes, it is. May I come in?" Spyro asked, his deep voice rumbling in his throat.

"U-u-uh… sure, come on in, Spyro… Erm…" Cyril stammered, unsure what to say. "If you don't mind me asking this of you, Spyro, um… What happened?"

"I was at _The Fleeting Spirit_ and got myself an age changing potion. I'm now seventy-eight years old," Spyro said nervously, swallowing hard. "I increased my age by sixty years."

"But why? Why would you do something like that? You're missing your young years. They are probably some of the best years of _any_ dragon's life. You only get to be young once."

"Yeah, but… Look, I love someone, and they're sixty years older than me… Well, sixty years older than me when I was eighteen. It would've been weird and uncomfortable trying to start a relationship with them, so I decided I would increase my age so it would be a bit more natural."

"Natural? Since when is changing your age…? You know what, never mind…" Cyril groaned. "But I'm confused. I don't have a mate. Terrador and Volteer do. Why would you ask me about love when I don't really know what I'm talking about?"

"Because… Because…"

Ancestors damn him. Spyro froze, unsure how to articulate his words in a way that wouldn't weird Cyril out. He needed to figure out how he was going to say that he loved him. Ancestors, he was in the presence of his crush, and he was almost losing it, and he feared that every time he would speak he would slip over his words and make a mess of confessing to Cyril.

The purple dragon took a deep, slow breath, before he spoke. "Because I… I love _you_, Cyril…" Spyro said slowly.

"Wait… _what_?" Cyril exclaimed, confusion and nervousness clouding his expression.

"I love you, Cyril. I've had feelings for you for a while."

"But… you're a guy… this… this is… u-u-uh…"

"I haven't been too confident about this but I'm doing it. I needed to confess to you. I've spent ages trying to think about what to do and how to tell you… that it always made it worse. I needed to do this. And if we are going to get together I needed to close the age gap between us, which is why I got an age changing potion. I'm sorry for springing this on you, I just… oh, I know you're gonna scold me and hate me for this now. Maybe I should've just kept my big mouth shut. This isn't normal… _none_ of it is normal. I'm a _freak_."

Cyril just remained there, stammering incoherently, trying to gather his words. The purple dragon sighed, knowing all his efforts had gone to waste. He turned, beginning to leave the temple, alone and heartbroken. A large tear began to form in his eye, before releasing itself and dripping down his cheek. Cyril didn't love him back. _No one_ would love him back. What other guy was in love with the same sex? No one.

Just him.

"You're a… a-a-a… Y-y-you're a g-g-guy…" Cyril stuttered, causing Spyro to feel even more regretful that he had come out to Cyril like that, but what Cyril said next stopped his heart. "That's… That's _perfect_."

The purple dragon was frozen on the spot. He sniffled, turning back and looking at Cyril with downcast, watery eyes. "What did you say?" Spyro questioned.

"That's perfect," Cyril repeated. "So… you're… _in love_… with me?"

Spyro blinked, unsure what Cyril was going on about, but nodded. Cyril's confused, worried face suddenly softened, before a large smile pulled at his lips. His breath hitched as laughter began to wrack his form. "I guess you'll have to do, then," he chuckled.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"I like guys too, Spyro. I've been trying to find someone who was the same but never had any luck. I haven't had a crush since I was twenty-nine, shortly after giving up on love and believing I would be single for the rest of my life. But now _you're_ here! And _you_ are the same as _me_! We both like guys!"

A beaming smile painted Spyro's lips in response, knowing he had finally received his wish. "All this effort hasn't gone to waste after all! We can finally be together!" Spyro exclaimed, tears of unadulterated joy spilling from his eyes.

Spyro lunged at Cyril, enveloping him in a tight, bone-crushing hug as he wept happily. Cyril, having spent almost fifty years believing he would never find love, also wept as he returned Spyro's hug, finally finding someone that he could love. A _guy_ that he could love. Sure, it was Spyro, which was a bit strange, but...but they could make it work. And Spyro was seventy-eight now. The purple dragon was his own age. It was perfectly fine.

Cyril sighed happily, holding Spyro firmly. "I never thought I'd find a guy who'd love me back. Thank you Spyro. I wasn't expecting it to be you though, but… it'll work. We'll make it work," he whispered into Spyro's ear.

"So… you're saying you weren't attracted to me?" Spyro asked.

"Well… not to start off with. After all, you _were_ a kid, but I could always imagine you becoming a young, very good-looking dragon. But… when I saw you enter just now… I _did_ feel some attraction towards you. I guess it was the fact that you're now closer to my age, as well as the fact that you've developed a lot more. You _do_ look amazing."

"So… would you like to be in a relationship with me?" the purple dragon inquired.

"Of course. I mean, we have no other choice but… I think… I think I'm falling for you," Cyril admitted, causing Spyro's heart to lurch happily. "I think you're the one I've been waiting for."

Spyro just chuckled, before he stepped back slightly, looking into Cyril's piercing cyan eyes lovingly. The ice guardian parted his lips, pulling them into a smile. Spyro's eyes suddenly flicked from Cyril's eyes to his lips. He blinked, breath wavering as he stared at them. Cyril noticed Spyro's gaze, before his own gaze dropped to Spyro's purple lips.

Cyril stepped closer to Spyro, taking each step cautiously, before he suddenly lunged at Spyro, taking his lips into his own in their first kiss. Spyro froze, eyes flickering before he closed them, melting into the kiss as he returned it. He let out a content sigh, feeling Cyril's lips against his own, tasting the ice guardian's breath.

With a smack of their lips, they parted, breathing heavily, large smiles on their faces. "You… you k… you kissed… you kissed me…" Spyro murmured, ecstatic.

"Was it too soon?" Cyril asked. "I've never done this before and… after fifty years of watching everyone around me fall in love, kiss their partner… I just… I dunno, I felt I had to do it."

"It's fine Cyril. I liked it," Spyro replied, his voice low and croaky, causing Cyril's breath to hitch as he heard it.

With that, the purple dragon leaned forward, kissing Cyril again. Without hesitation, he returned the kiss, passionately. They fed on each other's breath, parting their lips to suck in the fresh air around them once they ran out of breath to give each other, until they fell back into the kiss. They pulled back, chuckling in glee as they tried to get their breath back.

"Your lips… they're so soft…" Cyril puffed, his voice low and airy. "I didn't know... lips could... _be_ that soft."

"Yours were great too…" Spyro replied. "Better than… I could have ever… dreamt of."

Cyril chuckled in response. "Ancestors, that was amazing," Cyril said. "You're a great kisser."

"You too. On your earlier comment about it being too soon? It was completely fine, but maybe we should take it a bit slower from now on, to truly get this relationship going. I guess… after us both spending a very long time failing to find love from the sex we're attracted too, we needed that."

"Agreed."

Cyril stretched out his paw to Spyro, who took it in a firm pawshake. They released each other's paws, before staring at each other awkwardly. "Now what?" Spyro asked.

"I reckon our first plan is to figure out how to tell the other guardians about this. Since I'm living with Terrador and Volteer I think it'll be something they should know."

"That's a good idea. I reckon we should do it together, especially since I'm now your significant other."

"Mmm. Does Cynder know? I mean, you two are best friends."

"Yeah, she knows. She tried to ask me out three days ago so I had to turn her down."

"Oh. That must've been hard to do."

"Mainly because I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but she took it surprisingly well. She actually was the one who suggested the age changing potion."

"I'm glad you did that. Otherwise that would've been weird if you'd rocked up as an eighteen-year-old saying you loved me. I mean… eighteen _is_ the legal age but… we would've been sixty years apart. That would have been weird."

"Exactly why I wanted to do something about it. I didn't believe it was something I could fix until Cynder took me to Vidari at _The Fleeting Spirit_. It really made me feel like this relationship was possible. The next issue was just hoping that you're a homosexual as well, but it turns out you are, and that's amazing, probably the best thing ever."

Cyril blinked. "Homosexual?" he questioned.

"Oh," Spyro chuckled. "It's a word Cynder made up. You know, 'homo' meaning 'same' and how we are attracted to the same sex? Yeah, I thought it wouldn't stick but apparently it has since I just used it."

"I don't mind it. At least we have a name for it now. Maybe we could help other… 'homosexuals'... to come out and just… be themselves. I mean, I didn't expect _you_ of all dragons to be one, so who knows who else is one?"

"I know. That'd be a great thing," Spyro replied. "But first things first, I reckon we should just focus on our own relationship to start off with."

"Agreed," Cyril replied, leaning forward and kissing Spyro on the cheek.

Spyro smiled, chuckling in response. His dream had finally come true. He was in a relationship. With Cyril.

This was the best day of his life.

* * *

**So, hope you enjoyed this little Spyro x Cyril fic! Bit weird, and the idea kinda came out of a bit of a joke, but I reckon it turned out nicely. Hope you enjoyed, and I can't wait to see what you all think of it!**


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